·
To select appropriate items from the Cabinet agenda for pre-decision
scrutiny (cabinet reports enclosed for Scrutiny Members)
Minutes:
The Committee was
provided with a short presentation which gave a strategic overview of the
digital infrastructure project of the Swansea Bay City Deal; this particular
programme of work and proposed investment was in relation to the connectivity
of the region, including Neath Port Talbot. It was clarified that the
investment would include full fibre fixed connectivity, the associated
infrastructure to support it and mobile connectivity, primarily 4G, 5G and
Internet of Things advanced wireless networks.
Officers explained that
it was a £55 million programme spread over 5 years; £25 million of the total
was City Deal funding and the other £30 million was to be brought in from the
private and public sectors. It was highlighted that the public sector
contributions were not local contributions, instead they were estimated to come
from national competitions and funding streams. In relation to the private
sector contributions, it was noted that it would be leveraged in as part of the
various procurement exercises conducted; the private sector were conservative
in terms of the financial targets and Officers stated that they did not foresee
any issues in meeting those targets.
The presentation
detailed the delivery of the proposed project across three work streams which
included rural, next generation wireless and connected places; the project
would deliver connectivity in various forms and locations across those three
work streams:
·
Rural – investment in rural connectivity, ultimately a number of
interventions to support the most rural communities and badly served
communities e.g. demand stimulation, promotion of existing funding streams for
people to exploit and supporting residents, communities and businesses
·
Next generation wireless – seed funding to attract future 5G and 4G+
coverage for certain areas where prudent and some advanced wireless networks to
facilitate all sorts of used cases the region would seek to fund e.g.
driverless cars and SMART manufacturing. The diversity of the region offers
numerous opportunities to prove and deliver the use of 5G for the future
·
Connected places – investment in full fibre broadband and full fibre
networks across the urban parts of the region particularly Port Talbot, Neath,
Swansea and Llanelli
Members noted the main
reasons as to why the project was taking place which was split into problems to
solve and opportunities to exploit, and how working together with Welsh and UK
Governments, telecoms industries and regional partners and stakeholders would
help to make a difference.
Some of the problems to
solve included:
·
Extremely limited full fibre coverage (only 2.6% of Neath Port Talbots
premises, business and homes had full fibre broadband); intend to use the
projects finances to leverage as much connectivity as possible
·
22,000 homes across the region who struggled to access even a 30MB per
second quality of internet provision; intend to reduce this number
significantly
·
Distinct lack of supplier competition, which is one of the reasons why
the region wasn’t well served in terms of connectivity; intend to change this
by working with industry and utilise the finances to attract competition to
make sure reliable, sustainable and fast connectivity could be built
Some of the
opportunities to exploit included:
·
Innovation and new business streams; the digital marketplace and
provision of digital services offer huge potential
·
Social inclusion and cohesion; this links with sustaining communities as
it helps to bring work to people and allow people to connect to work
·
Future proofing the regions infrastructure; the investment was for the
future as well as present day
It was mentioned that
the current Covid 19 pandemic had highlighted the
importance of connectivity, as many people had to work from home and/or run
their businesses online.
Officers displayed a
diagram which captured how the programme will be structured and delivered; they
highlighted that the digital infrastructure project board steered the digital
infrastructure PMO. It was noted that the members of the board were people who
were focused on the strategic direction of the region’s economy and its social
equalities and social wellbeing.
A discussion took place
in relation to a presentation that was previously provided to Members; a
proposal for a superfast cable in South Wales which was brought forward by Sir
Terry Matthews and his associates at the time. Officers stated that this was
what the City Deal was being built around previously, but it had since then
changed direction.
Members asked if
Officers could clarify where Neath Port Talbots connected places were. It was
stated that Port Talbot and Neath as well as Swansea and Llanelli would be
targeted in terms of duct and fibre network; the intention was to run a
procurement to connect public sector assets and to provide a footprint for a
significant inward investment in to connect as many premises and communities
across Neath Port Talbot as possible. It was added that at the current stage there
wasn’t a specific list of businesses and/or communities that would be targeted;
Officers would be able to begin to understand exactly which communities were
within scope and would likely be included, once the marketing testing and
procurement started.
Following a question in
relation to how to get 5G, it was noted that in order to obtain good 5G
coverage, in the same amount of area that you could get 4G, very good
distribution of fibre was required.
In regards to the rural
work stream, it was asked whether the whole region would be covered or if
certain areas of the region would be targeted; and if the latter, were there
certain parts of Neath Port Talbot, for example certain valleys or hubs, that
were going to be focused on. Officers confirmed that they had detailed
intelligence and data in terms of who is connected and what they could expect
to receive at the moment; the current priority was to target the worst served
in regards to connectivity, in the rural areas. It was mentioned that the
current budget wouldn’t be enough to connect everyone, however there was
investment ongoing from UK and Welsh Government, as well as from City Deal as
previously mentioned; the importance of working with partners to ensure efforts
weren’t doubled was raised. It was stated that data and maps which highlighted
the worst served areas could be shared with Members.
Members raised the
importance of the City Deal project having synergy with other relevant
strategies, both public and private sector, particularly in relation to
connectivity in the valley areas; this would add value and ensure the work
being carried out within the strategies tied together effectively. It was
mentioned that a lot of Officers who were involved in other strategies, e.g.
the valley task force, were involved in the City Deal project; the work from
all areas such as health, education and particularly economic growth was
heavily based around having connectivity moving forward. Members were informed
that there was already a few funding streams available to communities; Officers
intended to help the region become better at supporting communities and
exploiting the funding opportunities that already existed for connectivity and
to help communities peruse funding and deliver community projects.
It was highlighted that
good, dependable information about the roll out of 5G needed to be communicated
outwards in order to prevent further concerns about 5G; it was confirmed that
there was a fourth work stream in which Officers who represent the region would
help local authorities to deal with these sorts of issues as they were well
versed in responding to 5G queries and health concerns.
The Committee discussed
aspects of the rural work stream, and noted that due to the diversity of the
region, there were mixed approaches in dealing with the particular work
streams. It was stated that Offices recognised the importance of rural areas,
the underserved communities, the businesses who operate and the people who were
now working from home in those communities, which is the reason behind the
blended approach to the work streams and the distribution of investment across
the work streams was dictated by that. It was added that in light of the Covid 19 pandemic, amendments were recently made to the
business case to strengthen the argument for social equality and what is fair
and right for communities especially in rural areas.
Following Scrutiny, the
Committee was supportive of the proposals to be considered by cabinet.